is. we're paying to see the movie, not your cell phone light. and we're paying to hear the actors, not your lame chatter. next time you want to go to a movie, think of the the "ridic" that does it for us. "american morning" starts right now. mitt romney hitting the home stretch in iowa four days to go before caucus day and with ron paul close, rick santorum surging, the race for the hawkeye state is still wide open. with king jong-il gone, hopes were high for peace between north and south korea, but those hopes are fading fast after a chilly announcement from pyongyang. checking the lights and testing the confetti. times square bracing for 1 million visitors tomorrow night, and we're taking you behind the scenes of the biggest new year's eve bash in the world on this "american morning."

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning, everyone. so glad you could join us. it is friday, december 30th. i'm deb feyerick along with alina cho on this "american morning." >> thanks for joining us, everybody. up first this morning, mitt romney trying to steal the deal in iowa. former massachusetts governor is the front-runner now, a few points ahead of ron paul. with four days to go before the caucuses, romney is tweaking his schedule, planning to spend a lot more time in iowa over the next 96 hours telling voters this election is about saving the soul of america and he is the man for the job. cnn political editor paul steinhauser live in des moines, iowa this morning. good morning to you. so romney is enlisting high-profile help on the trail today. isn't he? >> sure is. thinking here and across the country, iowa, chris christie. a lot of people wanted christie

himself to run for the white house. in october he finally said no for the last time and endorsed romney. going to be with him at the first campaign event of the day for romney. alina, seems quietly behind the scene, the campaign a little more happy where they stand in iowa and maybe a little bit more confident. he'll be right here in des moines on caucus not. not back in new hampshire. stay here and here the next morning before heading to new hampshire, the state that votes second subpoena that's what they're saying quietly and behind the scene. i think they're more confident. a modest mitt romney, still. take a listen. >> sure i want to win iowa. everybody wants to win iowa. i'm not going to predict who's going to win. it's too difficult to know who's going to show up at the caucuses, but i want to get the support of the people of iowa. >> remember four years ago he spent a lot of time and money in iowa. got upset by mike huckabee. went to new hampshire. lost there as well.

bad. he memories from four years ago. >> i also want to talk about newt gingrich falling in the polls. in the last cnn poll he's fourth with 14% of the vote. he's still confident. he's newt gingrich, after all, but he's lowering expectations now. isn't he? >> he seems to be. started last week and continued on the campaign trail yesterday here in iowa. maybe now fourth place is good enough for him to continue. take a listen. >> if you come in fourth, will you stay in the race? >> oh, sure. that wouldn't bother me. >> there are more than three tickets out of iowa? >> sure. depends on what happens. depends what the margins are. considering i'm 20 points ahead in other states, it would be fairly foolish not to stay in the race. it is a long way from here to picking the nominee. >> and those states he's talking about are south carolina, and florida. we haven't seen polls in a

while. keep our eyes on newt gingrich. see how he does here in iowa. that could really determine what is next for him. >> and headed into 2012 in debt. something else to think about. meanwhile, michele bachmann another high profile defection. two in two days. what's that all about, paul? >> the last thing she needs, right? in the single digits in our poll. shep needs a strong finish to continue on. taken off message. remember yesterday morning talking about her state chairman, senator, who jumped ship and now is backing ron paul. well, her political director here in iowa, let go, maybe fired after he took sides with that state senator, over that state senator was paid off by ron paul or not. taking michele bachmann off message. she needs to get back to her message immediately if she can do well near iowa. >> polling at around 9%. paul stein houhauser.

in the next hour, rick santorum's sudden surge in the poll. is it real? his chances of pulling off an upset? could he be the next mike huckabee? and this tuesday night, don't forget the country's caucus. iowa caucuses begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. north korea warning of violent revenge against south korea. the nation says it insulted that more south koreans did not intend the funeral of the late kim jong-il. south korea did allow some citizens to attend and did not send an official delegation. cnn's paula hancocks is live from south korea. there was hope the south expressed condolences, but what is going on now? >> reporter: well, alina, it's literally one day since the official mourning for kim jong-il ended, and already these

confrontational statements from north korea have started once again. there was this hope that the new boy, kim jong-un, he is young, he has been educate the abroad would have a different outlook and change things in north korea. the initial impression is it will be exactly the same. the statement from the national defense commission. we solemnly declare with confidence the south korean puppets and foolish politicians around the world should not expect any change from north korea. it really couldn't be any clearer. criticizing the fact the south koreans wouldn't give a blanket approval from people from south korea to go to pyongyang and pay their respects to kim jong-il, but it was an about-turn for the south korean government. president lee myung-bak had been hard-lined before he softened his stance. it clearly wasn't enough for north korea. there should be a little context

here. this is the kind of language we do expect from north korea. it's the kind of rhetoric that we have seen and heard a lot of in the past. very fiery rhetoric, but obviously it is coming very quickly after this official mourning period is over. alina? >> so, and, paula, it's deb now. we're also hearing that the u.s. plans to send one of its top diplomats to talk there in the region. do you think that that might help soften things? do you think that can help build a bridge, or right now is north korea just digging in and saying, sorry. things are going to ge on as usual? >> reporter: well, certainly from what we've heard today, it sounds as though they're digging in their heels and will be saying business as usual. sunday will be interesting. they always give an editorial on the first of january, every single year. it's published in the newspaper, but it's effectively indirectly from kim jong-il, it will be from kim jong-un. we'll be able to see exactly what he thinks for the year, but

we do have curt campbell, the u.s. assistant for the eastern asian affairs coming to tokyo, to beijing and a flurry of diplomatic activity around the region, which just shows the fear of the unknown at this point. all of the regional powers and the u.s. are working very closely to try and figure out what the repercussions are from kim jong-un taking over and kim jong-il dying. this is a statement we have heard before. >> paula hancocks for us there in korea. thank you so much again. i think as you put it, it is indeed a fear of the unknown. thanks so much. massive anti-rallies across syria. the opposition calling on people to camp out in public squares until president bashar al assad's regime is gone. 30 people killed during demonstrations last night. the protests were energized by the arrive of arab league peace

monitors earlier in the week. also new this morning, al qaeda building an army in libya. the terrorist organization recruited some 200 jihadists in the country and al qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri sent one of his personal fighters to head recruiting efforts in libya, but the source says western intelligence agencies are aware of his presence in. a fight over money is holding things up again at ground zero. new york mayor michael bloomberg now saying there is no chance the september 11th museum will open as planned 11 years to the day of the attacks. this is all over a dispute between the port authority and the museum foundation, whose chairman, by the way, a bloomberg, over who should pay $300 million in cost overruns. president obama paid his respects at pearl harbor last night. he and the first lady laid a wreath at the uss memorial to honor those killed there.

china official on a mission to send a man to the moon. a spacecraft and a space station. no human has set foot on the moon when the americans landed. the chinese successfully docked two unmanned space docks last month and consider to have it completed by 2016. any moon landing is not expected for another decade or so. 2020. still ahead, chilling 911 audio, whispers of a suspected killer who was dressed as santa as he opened fire on his family on christmas day. the economy raining on the rose parade. organizers dropping out and protesters moving in. what's that all about? we'll tell you, just ahead. final touches. yes, the countdown for the new

year's eve ball as new york prepare for the party of the year. a live report from times square, next. ♪ he was a 21st century global nomad ♪ ♪ home was an airport lounge and an ipad ♪ ♪ made sure his credit score did not go bad ♪ ♪ with a free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ app that he had ♪ downloaded it in the himalayas ♪ ♪ while meditating like a true playa ♪ ♪ now when he's surfing down in chile'a ♪ ♪ he can see when his score is in danger ♪ ♪ if you're a mobile type on the go ♪ ♪ i suggest you take a tip from my bro ♪ ♪ and download the app that lets you know ♪ ♪ at free-credit-score-dot-com now let's go. ♪

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to mississippi... florida... louisiana... alabama. the gulf's america's get-a-way spot no matter where you go. so come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for tourism on the gulf. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. man on tv: ...rbis and 36 homers. swings at the first pitch and fouls it deep back into the stands. [ding] [fans whirring] announcer: chill raw and prepared foods promptly. one in 6 americans will get sick from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov.

welcome back. it's 13 minutes after the hour. disturbing discovery in that deadly christmas day shooting outside dallas. police have enhanced the audioof a 911 call and they say the voice they've uncovered is the presumed killer. a man who shot and killed six family members while he was dressed as santa claus and then he shot himself to death. his words are chilling. listen. >> hello, 911. >> help me. help. >> you need help? >> are you sick? what was that? do you need an ambulance or police. hello? >> the victims included the suspected gunman, his estranged wife and two children, his 19-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son. new this morning, a massive sinkhole threatening to push a

historic cemetery under ground. officials in allentown, pennsylvania are scrambling to exhume any graves in danger. the cemetery holds 20,000 graves some dating back at far as the 1800s. the sinkhole spans 50 feet and is not just threatening the dead. 25 people in the area have also been evacuated from their homes. arrested a driver who they say intentionally ran his suv into five cars including that one there. a security camera captured all of it. police say the driver also tried to run over several people knop word on why. and we are holding our breath and just in time as 16 1/2 million dollar winning lottery ticket was turned in wed. only two hours before it was set to expire. iowa lottery officials tried for months to get the winner to come forward. no word yet on who won the hot lotto, or why they waited so long to claim their prize. good things are, they did. the odds are winning nearly 1 in

11 million. it's billed as the biggest new year's celebration in the world. the famed ball drop in times square, we're talking about. more than 1 million people are expected to crowd the area. workers are putting final touches on the ball, testing lights and confetti machines. straight to susan candiotti, live in times square. good morning. what a difference a year makes. a year ago were you standing on a snow drift. today, relatively balmy. >> reporter: can you believe it? indeed. it was right after the blizzard following christmas. standing on snow piles. not like that at all today. temperatures should be in the mid-40s on new year's eve. look. action already under way, even at this early hour. they've moved the barricades over to the side. soon they will be covering half of the street, where part of the 1 million people will be crowded. for a ten-block stretch here at times square and then heading up north from here, and you see the

crane is up. they're still work okay the lights. they're working on speaker systems, and at the top of the one times square building, look before that ball is going to be dropping towering 300 feet above times square. not to mention the ton of con fit that confetti showering times square at the stroke of midnight. a lot of preparations underway over there. the stage where cnn's anderson cooper and kathy griffin will broadcast our coverage, starting at 10:00 on new year's eve tomorrow night. we talked to the people putting all of this together, and they said, it's cooperation. >> when you see behind me, this like organizing the super bowl halftime show, except you've got a half a million people every day in a city alive all around you. it's so different from setting up in some empty stadium until the crowd comes in. the crowd is already here. the crowd is in your way. it's great, but makes it a lot

more complicated. >> reporter: and, of course, added to the complications of all of these people being here, security. nypd has been hard at work making all kinds of preparations. they will have security officers manning land, sea and air posts including healths with infrared capabilities. 16 checkpoints, with metal detectors. no alcohol allowed here, no backpacks. once you're in the pens, you can't get out. of course, nypd police commissioner ray kelly says they always have to be worried about terrorist thefts. >> we know the lone wolf threat is certainly alive and well. we know that there are al qaeda affiliates in places like somalia and yemen that are certainly plotting or have a desire to strike us here in the homeland. so our operating assumption is that the threat has really not

diminished. we have no reason to think it's diminished, and the lone wolf threat is something that, i think, certainly all of law enforcement, all of the federal agencies involved in this sort of work are very much concerned about. very difficult to identify these people. it's a big haystack and trying to pick out a couple of needles is exceedingly difficult. >> reporter: but, of course, ray kelly says despite all that, this is going to be a fun night. they're ready for it. they don't expect any problems at all, and i'm ready for it, too, alina. oh, yeah. got to have -- >> wow. >> reporter: got to the have the glasses and, woo-hoo, my own confetti. nice and ready for you. >> i would have expected you would have gotten the glasses early and the confetti. good for you.

in the spirit. >> reporter: my favorite color of green. okay. bye-bye. >> susan mentioned ray kelly. later on in the program we will speak to new york's top cop, ray kelly. he'll stop by "american morning," our studio's right here, to talk about safety at tomorrow's celebration in times square. that's at 7:50 a.m. eastern time. well, rob marciano is off today. but there's going to be a lot of weather, as people make their way tomorrow evening. reynolds wolf in the extreme weather center. hey there, reynolds. >> hey, guys. last year when you had the experience out at times square, the conditions were very rough. we had snow all over the ground. it was very, very chilly. this year we're expecting a little change. expand and show you the forecast. midnight hour, 43 degrees winds out of the west at 7. not warm, but same token, not as cold as last year. good news. we do anticipate that conditions are going to be much better than, say, we could find in detroit or back over in chicago, where for the time being in chicago, do you have scattered

rain showers, snow falling south of the twin cities and back towards madison. meanwhile, in new york, seeing a little bit of snowfall now north of syracuse, but back along parts of buffalo, along, say, rochester, 90, that warm front is coming through. that's the big difference. we don't have the cool air surface, that freezing layer. so snowfall, not going to happen for today for you. certainly good news. we're going to see a bit farther out towards the west, it's going to be another onslaught. again, moisture moving in the pacific northwest. rain and snowfall in the high a lot tulaltitudes. 54 in kansas city. 74 in new york. rather, 50 in new york. as we take a look, as we wrap things up with delays. due to rain, and minneapolis backup and houston and minneapolis, due to fog and low clouds. a look at your snapshot of the holiday weekend. more coming up. >> thanks, reynolds.

>> you bet. verizon about to spring a new fee on customers. calling it a convenience charge. we're going to tell you thouch how much it is and what you may be able to do to stop it. new rooms making it easier for people to buy and sell homes for a profit. it is now 22 minutes past the hour. ♪

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and welcome back. "minding your business" this morning. the final trading session of 2011 ready to begin in about three hours. encouraging news on home sales and improving prospects for job growth sent stocks higher yesterday, but the dow gained 138 points and the s&p 500

advancing back into the black for the year. real estate flippers who buy cheap homes fix them up and try to quickly resell them for a fast profit, they just got a reprieve from the federal housing administration. the fha is extending anti-flipping regulations through 2012, meaning buyers can stit gel mortgage insurance even if they flip a home with 90 days of purchasing it. the hope it will unload some of the foreclosed homes flooding low-income areas. and verizon wireless confirms it will charge a $2 convenience fee on january 15th to customers paking one-time bill payments online or telephone using a debit or credit card. it will offer several options to those who want to avoid paying the $2. the announcement comes two days after it suffered its third nationwide outage this month. hollywood low aring the

curtain on a brutal year in the box office. just 1.3 billion tickets sold in north america in 2011. believe it or not, lowest number in 16 years. revenues from ticket sales down 3.5% from 2010. and amazon.com, the world's largest online retailer says its kindle ereaders and tablets were the top three selling items in december. cust mothers bought more than 1 million kindles in a single week during the shopping season with the fire tablet the top selling item on amazon's website. "american morning" will be right back after the break. see you then. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. we get double miles on every purchase. so we earned a holiday trip to the big apple twice as fast! dinner! [ garth ] we get double miles every time we use our card.

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♪ a rose by any other name. b b budweiser and others, changing the way they do business on this "american morning."

welcome back, everyone. i'm deb feyerick with alina cho. it is 6:30 right now. time for the morning's top stories -- mitt romney's hunkering down in iowa with four days to go before the caucuses. the former massachusetts governor now plans to spend most of the next 96 hours in the state. his staff confirms that he will be spending new year's eve in des moines as well as caucus night and the morning after. north korea is threatening revenge against south korea. the north says it is insulted that more south koreans did not attend the funeral of its late leader kim jong-il. south korea did allow some citizens to travel to the funeral but did not send an official delegation. north korea says it wants no dealings with the south. al qaeda building an army in libya. a source tells cnn the terrorist organization has recruited some 200 jihadists in the country, and al qaeda leader ayman al

zawahiri personally sent a personal fighter to head recruiting efforts in libya. the source says western intelligence agencies are aware of his presence there. occupy activists plan to rain on the rose parade. demonstrators from all over the nation are apparently organizing a so-called human float right behind the last rose parade throat. >> the economy has impacted monday's festivities. big time sponsors have had to drop out. casey wian has that story. >> reporter: perennial award winner sprinkler, budweiser's famous clydesdale, all have withdrawn from the 2012 rose parade because of economic concerns. first entering a float in 1999, and wowed the crowd with 2010's memorable entry featuring the tuskegee airman. >> it brings the community

together. >> reporter: they stopped funding the fund in 2004 turning it over a private foundation which pulled out at the beginning of the year. >> we did our very, very best to raise the funds to pay for the float. the economics, the businesses are hurting. they wanted to go ahead and if they had additional available dollars to use it for other purposes. >> reporter: the picturesque back drop of the rose parade route traditionally viewed by cities as a valuable promotion's tool to attract people and businesses to the region. what with so many municipal budgets in trouble, cities now face a difficult choice. pay for a float in the rose parade or pay the salary of a police officer or librarian. >> certainly city where is there are major financial issues going on, putting a float in the parade, you know, seems like not necessarily the best use of resources. >> reporter: the smallest of the four companies that build floats for 75,000 to 200,000 dollar as

more each has shut its doors. >> we started off january 1st well, with a good parade and two happy clients, and we're finishing the year out of business. >> people just aren't spending money like they used to. everybody's holding on to it. >> reporter: tim estes runs fiesta floats those he's lost big clients, others have taken its place. >> an impact. cost of increases with raw material, flowers, steel, labor insurance costs. i'm just fortunate. >> reporter: organizers even with the slow economy say the rose parade remain as big draw for many advertisers. >> we seem to have weathered all the economic storms for the last 123 years and still are in existence comfortably. >> reporter: things may be uncomfortable after the parade. protesters plan to stage a demonstration behind the final float of 2012. casey wian, cnn, pasadena,

california. sad. 121-year tradition, but the economy getting in every facet of this nation. anyway -- >> exactly. all right. new this morning, donations pouring into the philippines. this after a devastating storm slammed the country nearly two weeks ago. foreign aid topped more than $12.5 million. the biggest donors were the u.s., china and australia. more than 1,200 people died during tropical storm washi and 40,000 homes were destroyed. a fire breaks out on a nuclear submarine in russia. 100 emergency responders at the scene. local officials say they shut down the sub's two nuclear reactors. crews eventually put out the flames that started on the scaffolding on the dock. the military research website says the sub is armed a16 missiles. officials say nun none of the equipment damagened and no threat of radiation. no injuries reported. the u.s. agreed to sell $30 billion worth of fighter jets to

saudi arabia. the deal calls for production of up to 84 new jets and the modernization of 70 existing f-15s. with iran causing tension in the middle east, state department official, calling the contract a demonstration of america's commitment to a strong saudi defense. egyptian authorities storming the offices of 17 nongovernmental organizations, including three u.s.-based group. the full-blown raids happened yesterday. apparently computers and files were seized. this is already adding to the already tense ties between egypt and washington. egyptian officials say it was all part of an investigation into alleged illegal funding. we want to go straight to mohammed jamjoom, watching the situation for some time now, live in cairo. mohammed, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, alina. these raids yesterday came as a complete shock and i'm here today with julie hugh, the country director in egypt for ndi. thanks for being here.

what was taken and how many of your offices were raided? >> three offices simultaneously raided. our office in cairo, our office in alexandria and our office in this area. they took computers, other electronic equipment. videoconferencing equipment, cash. as well as, in cairo, at least, about 20 boxes of financial and programmatic records. training materials. used flip chart paper. pretty extensive. >> reporter: did you have any indication this kind of thing was going to happen and if not, why do you think this occurred? >> i am not -- certain i understand exactly why. there have been a lot of media reports about a ministry of justice investigation into what is referred to as the illegal foreign funding, egyptian ngos, and ndi is an american

organization that applied for registration in egypt in 2005 and has been working here since then. we're a training institute. so the issue of funding really shouldn't affect us. we are a little mystified. >> reporter: thanks for being with us. we're going to continue to follow this story, try to speak to egyptian activists here today, who are completely outraged that this happened yesterday and saying these are tactics that couldn't even have been employed by the former leader, hosni mubarak. and the list of words from last year forever banished from the english language in 2012. sorry, guys, your man cave, about to become a shed again. in some cases, just a couch. anderson cooper and kathy griffin host tomorrow's new year's eve celebration for the fifth year.

kathy says anderson should duct tape his pants to his body. will he? i'll tell you about that coming up. 38 minutes after the hour. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful.

you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates. and migrating waterfowl from all over make this a bird watcher's paradise. so if you missed it earlier this year, come on down. if you've already been here come on back... to mississippi... florida... louisiana... alabama. the gulf's america's get-a-way spot no matter where you go. so come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for tourism on the gulf. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home.

welcome back. 42 minutes after the hour.

are you ready to ring in the new year? well, new year's eve is tomorrow, and that can only mean one thing. here's at cnn, anderson cooper and kathy griffin. it will be anderson and kathy's fifth year hosting new year's eve together, and anderson's tenth for cnn. i asked him if physical is hthi of having to avoid the town on new year's eve? watch? >> it is. i started doing this because i never have fun on new year's eve. in new york, no cabs, freezing cold. so i volunteered, i guess ten years ago -- didn't know it was this long. started volunteers and found out i loved it. it's great being actually in times square. >> talk about that a little bit. give us sort of a behind-the-scenes look where you are. where is the set? >> we're on this giant sort of podium of bleachers that all media is on and everybody has two or three feet of space that they're allowed, and you're basically around 46th street.

there's just a great atmosphere there. it's nice -- i don't think i could do it as a civilian, because you're hemmed into pens with thousands of other people and can't go to the bathroom. that seems very unpleasant to me. >> talk about kathy. by her estimation, fired three times. why do you keep inniviting her back? >> it's not me. we've become friends over the years. >> she's like this with your mom. >> she and my mom are very good friends, which is surreal. they see each other more than i see them. they talk about all sorts of stuff i don't want to know about. yeah. >> last year she tried to talk her clothes off. i want to play this clip. watch. >> what the -- >> i -- what? it's new year's. >> you're supposed to do that at stroke of midnight. we're still, like -- four minutes away. and we're going to be live all the way through -- all the way through the new year. playing -- all the traditional stuff that we love.

new york, new york. the playing of -- what is going on? >> i'm faking your clothes off. it's f taking your clothes off. it's for america. >> when you see this, you go back and see it, it's weird to actually watch it. >> what she said she'll try to do this year, pants you. >> she's, i don't know. i don't know -- >> she says you should probably, just to be safe, duct tape your pants to your body. >> really? is that what she said. >> well, that's interesting. maybe i'll try suspenders or something. she always comes up with some hair-brained idea and we have to talk her down. last year -- >> yet she still tries. >> last year she wanted to throw money into the crowd. you can't throw money -- n. all seriousness, though, do you have a favorite moment or two over the years? this will be your fifth year with kathy. >> that's crazy. >> it is crazy. >> wow. favorite moment? i -- favorite moment, actually, no. it's actually just -- there really hasn't -- honestly, i try

to branch it out as soon as it's done and i just -- i pray that i wake up the next day and it's not on the headline or drudge report. that's abasically -- actually, the year she threw stuff at jonas brothers. that was fun. they were performing and she was literally throwing things at them. >> this year, lady gaga, your buddy,ing ing iing is going to bloomberg dropping the ball. >> we actually had gaga on the show before she was luge. shep was playing, and we went to her concert and that was fun. so i really feel our new year's show is responsible. >> you are. anderson cooper, thanks. always fun to talk to anderson to celebrate the new year with us. anderson cooper and kathy griffin hosting the big event from new york city's times square. reports of celebrations across the country and around the world, the party starts on saturday at 11:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn, but you

should get to times square much earlier if you want to see it from there. >> anderson's going to need his own security fri kathy. >> right. >> forget the crowds. anyway, great piece. well, get them out of your system while you still can. lake superior state university, as it does every year at this time, released its list of words and phrases that should be banned from the english language. they include the overusaed occupy. sorry about that, 99%. also it includes man cave. it's really just a basement with a tv, recliner, ebay, mini fridge and old air jordan posters. really, get over it. okay? and get a new couch. also, blowback, ginormous and baby bump. if you have a jine normous baby bump, chances are you've been in the man cave too long or are just really pregnant. >> people are going to continue to use those words. especially occupy. anyway -- coming up, don't book your next vacation just yet.

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relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. 48 minutes after the hour. here's what you need to know to start your day -- four days to go until the iowa caucuses and mitt romney trying to seal the deal he'll be spending new year's eve in des moines, spending the day today

with governor chris christie. north korea saying expect no change in that it will not deal with the south korean government. the north insulted that more south koreans did not attend the funeral of kim jong-il. south korea did allow some citizens to travel to it funeral but did not send an official delegation. president obama visited the pearl harbor memorial last night. he and the first lady laid a wreath at the "uss arizona" in honor of the more than 2,400 americans killed there 70 years ago this month. and lady gaga will be new york city mayor's michael bloomberg's special guest at tomorrow's new year's eve party in times square. she's push the button that begins the ball drop and the countdown to 2012. she calls it the ultimate honor for a new yorker. the news you need to know to start your day. "american morning" is back after this.

the new year is almost here. maybe you're away. maybe you stayed put, but what can travelers expect in 2012? airport screening, a lot quicker. more travelers. they're going to book trips through social mudia sites. some of the new travel sites for the year ahead. here to help prepare, sarah spagnolo for "travel & leisure." thanks for being here. i was stunned when i read airlines tried to raise fares 22 times last year. does that mean that there are, we're going to see higher fares in the coming year as well? >> we are going to see slightly higher fares. they're expected to rise somewhere between 2% to 5% for

short haul economy flights in the u.s. and a bit more when you're looking at growing economies in latin america and asia-pacific, but that's not so much when you're considering what was attempted last year. >> which is crazy. because you have fewer airlines, since they're all merging or going out of business? >> unimportantly seats at high capacity. you'll see fuller plane. those seats are in demand. >> talk about delays at airports on planes. now, the industry sort of is now slapped with a huge sum of money. something like $27 per passenger if a plane is late by three hours. are planes going to take off more on time or are we just going to see more cancellations? >> a little bit of both. planes are attempting to takeoff on time more frequently than ever before thanks to the new d.o.t. law put in place in april 2010. you'll see an increased amount of cancellations as well. the grand scheme of all travel, the cancellations are a very

small percentage. less than 2% of all flights. not something to be concerned about on a grand scale. >> i feel bad. one snowstorm which strands a whole plane of people somewhere, like, 15 feet from the gate, but let's talk about, also, the positive, because screening is supposed to get a little bit easier. right? >> yes. thanks to a new tsa pilot program called pre-check, a select group of frequent fliers will be able to go through security quicker nap will help everybody out, of course. they'll be able to go through security still wearing belts, shoes, keeping liquids and computers in carry-on bag. the first in the u.s. including atlanta. by 2015, the tsa we'll all be able to ge through security wears shoes thanks to new shoe screening mats. >> good. a little extra layer of screening but a little less time having to get dressed. >> exactly. no need to kick off your shoes. >> exactly. talk about the airports themselves, because i travel a

lot through laguardia airport here in new york and see they're making a very big change when it comes to the kind of foods they're offering. almost stepping up their game. it's not just that sort of little newsstand anymore. >> you're seeing at laguardia, something you'll see across the country. instead of fast-food chains, local restaurants by local chefs. la guardia, perfect example. a new restaurant called minnow and seafood inspired restaurant. a well-known chef here in new york. a food truck parked outside terminal 4 serving korean style short rib tacos. something unexpected in the airport for sure but absolutely delicious. >> people that don't know about the food courts in california, hugely hop bar. what about hotels? what can we expect? it is a recession, yet people are traveling. are prices coming down or where will they hover? >>en fortunately not. prices increase about 5%

according to smith's travel research. great idea, great tip, lock in a fare with trip adviser or expedia or join a flash sale site. they appropriate a site called vacation. >> do it now? or as soon as possible? >> yes. >> i never know when i'll be able to travel. >> pre-planning. >> pre-planning not necessarily in my vocabulary when it comes to vacations. websites, expedia, travelocity and when you're reading through the descriptions of hotels, i always wonder, is this a friend of the hotel? >> yeah. >> are there new options coming out? >> there are new options. of course, everybody's now familiar with seeing what they're friends have done on facebook. new social media apps such as gogo bot incorporate your friends and people in your network travel review so you can see reviews from people you know and trust. >> okay. which is good. you want to get that sort of

lump sum. finally, quickly, cruises. i have to say, i was not a big fan of cruises until i took one and now i am -- i'm actually -- only been on one, but i'm converted, bay it's a really good way to get somewhere without leaving where you are. which i kind of like. what about cruises? >> actually a bright spot when looking at the travel landscape for 2010 -- 2012. seeing discounts. five months, windstar, 15% discount. oceana, panama and caribbean, book five months in advance, throwing in free airfare. perks travelers are excited about. >> an option. sarah spagnola, thank you very much. maybe i will pre-plan. it is a new year. thanks for join ug. "american morning" is going to be right back with all the morning's top stories. see you soon.

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[ male announcer ] icy hot no-mess applicator. wherever you hurt, it massages in icy to dull pain, hot to relax it away. no pain. no mess. mitt romney, hunkering down for the home stretch in iowa. four days to go until caucus day. with ron paul close and rick santorum surging, brand new poll numbers are coming out right now. al qaeda looking for a

foothold in libya. they just sent one of their top jihadists there in an attempt to build a fighting force. a cnn special report coming up just ahead. snubbing the nypd and the new year's tradition for allegedly spying on them after the 9/11 attack. we'll hear from both sides, including new york's top cop, ray kelly. and they're checking the lights, they're testing the confetti. times square bracing for 1 million visitors tomorrow night. we're taking you behind the scenes of the biggest new year's eve bash in the world, we like to think, on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. it's friday, december 30th. the eve of new year's eve. welcome to "american morning." i'm alina cho along with deb feyerick. so glad you're with us. up first this morning, mitt romney hunkering down in iowa trying to close the deal. the front-runner right now.

a few points ahead of ron paul. with four days to go before the caucuses, romney is tweaking his schedule. planning to spend a lot more time nigh wa over the next 96 hours after a quick visit to new hampshire. telling voters this election is about saving the soul of america and that he's the man for the job. cnn political editor paul steinhauser, live from des moines, iowa this morning. paul, i understand you have some brand new poll numbers just out? >> reporter: yeah. this is just a couple minutes ago. deb, let's look at them immediately. a likely caucusgoers here in iowa, from nbc maris, and look at the top. there's massachusetts governor romney. at 23%. ron paul at 21%. the congressman from texas, basically a dead heat when you take into account the sampling. rick santorum, former pennsylvania senator, 15%, followed one point back by rick perry and 14%, newt gingrich at 13%. former house speaker and michele bachmann down in single digits.

of course, the congressman from neighbors minnesota. does that poll look familiar? looks almost exactly like that cnn/time/orc poll we put out. newt gingrich numbers are collapsing in iowa and rick santorum rising and right now romney and paul tied for the top spot. four days to go in caucuses here, deb. >> interesting. we're seeing a more confident mitt romney. kind of luke warm for voters. now he seems to be turning up the flame. he's even going to campaign today with chris christie. >> reporter: yeah. chris christie, the new jersey governor who a lot of people wanted himself to run for the white house, is going to be joining romney. of course, christie a big surrogate for romney. romney goes to new hampshire, you mentioned, for about that 24 hour, not even and comes right back here. romney will be here caucus night. another sign he's getting more confident. publicly, remains modest. take a listen to what he said

yesterday. >> sure, i want to win iowa. everybody wants to win iowa. i'm not going to predict who's going to win. i think it's too difficult to know who's going to show up at the caucuses, but i want to get the support of the poom eople o iowa. >> reporter: publicly why does he remain so modest? four years ago, spent a lot of money, didn't win here or in iowa. he does not want to repeat the performance this time around. >> better to heir on terr on th caution. thanks so much. see you a little later on. 96 hour. not a lot of time to swing an election, unless, of course, you're talking about iowa, where more than half the voters haven't even made up their minds yet. so what's it going to take to seal the deal in the hawkeye state? we want to ask cnn contributor will cane, and live from washington, maria cardona. one of the big headlines, you heard paul steinhauser just say, romney is pounding the pavement

in iowa in the final days. there or caucus night, there the morning after. and today he's campaigning with a darling of the republican party, chris christie. >> right. >> what do you make of that? >> i think romney sengss he actually has a chance to win iowa. i don't think it's been that important to romney leading up to this moment. he knew he could go in and win new hampshire. >> great for momentum. >> a good point. explain what's at stake in iowa. this year, political insider talk, sounds like. we have proportional delegates. you win iowa, don't win the whole state. 25 delegates at stake in iowa. win 30%, you win 15, 20 delegates. he's in to pick up a few delegates, more important, momentum. a sense of inevitability you're going to be the guy. >> jim acosta is there on the trail saying the crowds are getting bigger and romney is sensing -- nothing like being at the top of the polls to energize a candidate, right? >> i talked how many did you actually win, votes in iowa.

how many you need to win in a gop nomination, 1 sh,100. except for gaining momentum, make people like you and me talk about him. >> maria, another high-level defection in the michele bachmann campaign. just yesterday the political director. what's going on with bachmann? >> well i think what's going on with bachmann is more of a reflection of how volatile this whole process has been. let's not forget that this is the woman who actually won the iowa straw poll a few short months ago back in august, but what it really demonstrates is the tension among republicans. especially among the most conservative social and evangelical gop voters, who really are struggling between a candidate who can really be their standard and at the beginning of the process we that you was michele bachmann, and then somebody who they believe might have the capacity to beat

president obama. clearly, what they're saying is bachmann is not that candidate. >> what's interesting, though, at least in the iowa state chair's case that person went over to ron paul. not somebody like rick santorum. you know? it's an interesting -- anyway, i mean, try to -- >> you're absolutely right. what that demonstrates, alina, yet another tension among the republican party, which is who is that anybody but romney candidate? let's not forget, romney is still somebody who the gop voters don't absolutely love, and don't trust. so who is that anybody but romney candidate? >> talk about that. anybody but romney candidate. will cain. rick santorum third in the polls. when that came out a surprise to a lot of people. despite the fact he has a very strong ground game in iowa. you know, the big question that i have, of course, going forward is, could he pull off a huckabee in 2012? do you think he could win iowa? and is it a one-time surge or is

this a real surge? >> might be the perfect example. could you pull off a huckabee? do you win iowa and not much else beyond iowa? that's absolutely possible. a dark horse to win iowa? on paper, yeah, perfectly fits the iowa electorate. family issue, social conservatism at the top of his list. very important to republican iowans. what happens after that, the question. "wall street journal" had a great headline the other day. as iowa goes, so goes iowa. how important would it be, should santorum win iowa? already put money in new hampshire but polled near the bottom. what happens after iowa? >> that's romney's backyard, of course. it would you know about political segment without asking about newt gingrich. stunning drop in the polls, just since the begins of the month. a drop in 19 points from 33% to 14%. let's listen to him lowering expectations. watch. >> if you come in fourth will you stay in the race? >> oh, sure. >> so there are more than three

tickets out of iowa? >> sure. depends on what happens. depend what the margins are. considering i'm ahead in other states, it would be fairly foolish not to stay in the race. a long way from here toic picking a nominee. >> what do you think about that, maria? a huge change from a few short weeks ago talking about looking at the number, it would be difficult not to consider him the nominee. that, again, is a reflection of how volatile this race has been. but i think also for gingrich, he has been clearly the focus of tremendous, tremendous pile-on of negative advertising. in gingrich true fashion, his own worst enemy as we have seen the old newt really rise and say things and talk about things that are just adding to his implosion, and i think that has been the fear of the republican establishment. if he ends up being the anybody but romney candidate that he will actually be his own worst

enemy and completely implode if he ends up being the nominee. >> as we reminded viewers, he likes to keep his campaign positive. the reality, he doesn't have the money to launch those negative ads and is going to head into debt in 2012. we'll see how that plays out. maria cardona, will cain thank you so much. keep it here on cnn for the best political information on tv. join anderson cooper for countdown to iowa, final 48 hours. anderson will take a close look what each candidate is doing to win the last-minute support sunday at 8:00 eastern on cnn. and special, "live america's choice," 2012 coverage of the iowa caucuses begins 7:00 p.m. eastern only on cnn. new this morning -- north korea lett threatening re against south christine romans.

t -- south korea. south korea aloud some citizens to attend, but it did not send an official delegation. north korea responding with a very harsh message threatening to "smash puppet forces" in the south. a fight over money holding things up again at ground zero. new york mayor mike bloomberg now saying there is no chance that the september 11th museum will open as planned on the 11th anniversary of the attacks. all over a dispute over money between the port authority and museum foundation, whose chairman, by the way, a michael bloomberg. question, who should pay $300 million in cost overruns? the testing lights, setting up barricades and shining up the ball. preparations for tomorrow's big bash in times square. 1 million people will cram into the crossroads of the world and more than 1 billion others will tune in to watch the traditional ball drop. want to go to susan candiotti

live in times square way look at security and prep. what's going on, susan? >> reporter: an early flavor. there you go. oh -- well, it blew well. didn't it? there's confetti for you. action even at this early hour. the streets are clear at this time, but 24 hours from now, forget it. they're going to start to pile in here. the barricades will go up. people will be penned in. you won't be able to go out. you won't be allowed to bring in alcohol or backpacks, and in will be tight security, but they're getting ready to drop that beautiful crystal ball made of waterford crystals at the stroke of midnight. you see the stages ober there, where anderson cooper will be broadcasting, with kathy griffin. so they're getting ready for that as well. it's an experience the organizers say is not to be missed. even in person, or on television. take a look. >> part of it, you know, you see it for years and people just want to be there in this

internet age where everything you're kind of seeing on a screen, there is something intense about just being there with the spirit of the crowd, and, you know, a little bit of narsism. you know 1 billion people are watching. get in a hand wave to mom, that goes a long way. >> reporter: of course, security is critical here and the new york police department has been hard at work making preparations. there are no current active terrorist threats right now that they are reporting. however, authorities say they are always on guard. after all, they said they have been able to prevent and break up 14 terrorist plots in the last ten years, and they're ready with 16 checkpoints, metal detectors, they've got at least 500 cameras around this immediate area, and, of course, security officers and police, the federal authorities as well will be covering the new york metropolitan area. i talked with commissioner ray kelly about being on guard against people who might be even

out to take retribution after the death of osama bin laden this year. they always have to guard against even lone wolf. >> the lone wolf that is something that certainly all of law enforcement, all of the federal agencies involved in this sort of work are very much concerned about. very difficult to identify these people. it's a big haystack, and you're trying to pick out a couple of needles, it's exceedingly difficult. >> reporter: even the commissioner himself will be out here celebrating as well. and we're ready. i've got my glasses. ready to go. whew-hoo! ready 0 bring in 2012. ailelina and dreb braeborah, ba >> adding it to the collection. always good. always amazing to see times square now that they changed the traffic pattern with no cars there, even at this time of the

morning, but, yeah, testing that confetti, as they should. if the wind go up, it's going to go over. >> we should mention new york city police commissioner ray kelley stop by "american morning" to talk more about safety at tomorrow's celebration in times square. that's at 7:50 eastern time. just about a half hour from now. and it is now almost quarter past the hour. rob marciano is off today. reynolds wolf manning the extreme weather center. reynolds -- >> i answer to everything. >> that's why we like you. >> no right or wrong way. toss it to me, i'll pick it up. we're picking up now, the forecast, temperatures that are around 43 degrees for the time the ball drops. certainly above the friesen poi freezing point, you'll need your jackets. no question about it. take a look at the potential delays. plenty of those. chicago, detroit rain. minneapolis, snow that might keep you ground add bit. atlanta, houston, denver, even san francisco in the mix. most of the delays just under an

hour. certainly some of the good news. one of the big weathermakers we have, this system chugging through parts of the midwest. this is going to be the culprit for backups in both chicago and detroit. this slow moving area of low pressure that's going to bring snowfall into parts of say the twin cities. for chicago, and into st. louis and into detroit, rain for the time being. that's your forecast. back to you in new york. >> all right, reynolds. thank you very much. >> you bet. still to come, the middle class losing jobs and their homes. now living on the lower end of the income scale. we're going to take an in-depth look at america's new poor. and new information about al qaeda building an army in libya, moving in as gadhafi was crushed. a live report on recruiting efforts. china, embarking on a mission to the moon. now beijing is working on that, and we'll talk about their plans to pick up where the u.s. left off. you're watching "american morning." it's 16 minutes after the hour. w cash rewards card gives you a 50% annual bonus! so you earn 50% more cash.

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and welcome back, everyone. america's new poor. the middle class. that's right. disturbing new census numbers show half of the u.s. is living on the lower end of the income scale. that's less than $45,000 a year for a family of four. poppy harlow spent the day with two moms struggling to survive each day, both with three kids. take a look. >> it's a fight every day. a fight every day. >> reporter: they're stuck in the middle. >> pick them up here. >> reporter: not living in poverty, but not making it either. many too ashamed to show their face. we met this young mother at a new jersey food pantry she used to donate to, but today she came

for help. >> why did i meet you here today? >> five kids. one bag of chicken left in the house, and it's only four pieces in there. >> reporter: a mother of three and helping take care of two other children. her job, she says, a victim of downsizing. but it wasn't always this way. >> reporter: 2009 for you, life was good? >> uh-huh. it was great. you know. three cars, house, kids. >> reporter: a similar story for this mother and her daughter. >> did you ever think that you would be living with your three kids in a shelter? >> no. i never thought in a million years that i would be at this point, this bad. i was working. the money i was making, i was able to pay my bill, until i got laid off from my job. >> reporter: she was bringing in between $40,000 and $50,000 a year. here in new jersey, the median household income is more than $77,000 a year. but the cost of living is steep. they were evicted in december.

>> reporter: where do you sleep? >> well, we transitioned from church to church. >> reporter: do you friends know you're living in a shelter? >> no. i just feel like they might look down on me or feel pit for me and i don't want that. >> reporter: nearly one in two americans is now living on the lower end of the income scale. for a family of four, that's less than $45,000 a year. the recession may be over, but it doesn't feel that way. >> we're seeing a tremendous increase, and much of that increase la to do with people that never, ever thought they were going to need to come to an emergency center. >> reporter: people that were middle class? >> people that were middle class. people that were donors. >> i think what we're seeing is that the middle class is going away. >> reporter: kate runs a local nonprofit and is working to help get this family back on their feet. >> families with educations and

had decent jobs are now being laid off. >> reporter: these are the families stuck in the middle? >> exactly. they fall through the crack. >> reporter: and there's a lot of them? >> there are a lot of them. that's the frightening part. >> nerve are thought i'd be here. i don't know why i have to go through this. >> reporter: your heart goes out to those families and i've got to tell you, those are just two of the families talked with us on camera. i met so many, spoke to so many on the phone. over in staggering statistic. if you look at numbers now, 46 million americans are on food stamps compared to 27 million at the beginning of the veegs. >> unbelievable. >> it's this issue of not being able to get by. wages are stagnant or much lower for many. the cost of live, food, energy, rent is so much higher, they can't make it anymore. >> especially looking at a county, for people familiar with this area, weren't of the wealthiest counties in new jersey. something stuck with me. one of the women said, middle

class is going away. such a sad state of affairs if that is indeed what's going on. >> we certainly are seeing it. we're going to continue to follow this, because it's such an important topic. so many people i spoke with that had very good paying jobs. accepting jobs make a fraction or no job at all and it goes on and on and on. >> everybody's tightening their bets and not only that the wage gab is wi gap is widening. thank you important story. verizon, a newactually tryil it a convenience charge. what you can do to stop it. thets next. what do you got? restrained driver in a motor vehicle.

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"minding your business" this morning. the final trading session of 2011 ready to begin in just about two hours. encouraging news on home sales and improving pross pegts for job growth sent stocks higher yesterday with the dow gaining 138 points and the s&p 500 advancing into the black for the year. verizon wireless confirms it will charge a $2 convenience fee on january 15th to customers making one-time bill payments online or by telephone using a debit or credit card. the company says it will offer several options to customers who want to try to avoid paying it. real estate clipper who buy cheap homes, fix them up and try to resell them for a profit just got a reprieve. the hha extending anti-flipping regulations through 2012 meaning buyers can still get mortgage insurance if they flip a home

woith 90 days of buying it. hoping it will unlloyd the foreclosed homes flooding the low income areas. airlines will have to be more transparent as taxes and fees begins january 26th, when the transportation department begins enforcing new guidelines requiring airlines to make it easier to see the full price of a ticket when advertising those airfares. "american morning" will be back after this. nyquil (stuffy): hey, tylenol. you know we're kinda like twins. tylenol: we are? nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal congestion. nyquil (stuffy): overachiever. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. what is it about taking a first step that we find so compelling? is it because taking a step represents hope? or triumph? at genworth, we believe in taking small steps every day to keep your promises, protect what matters, and prepare for a secure financial future.

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welcome back to "american morning" for a friday. our favorite day of the week. it's 31 minutes after the hour. time for this morning's top stories. mitt romney's hunkering down for the home stretch in iowa. four days to go until the caucuses, the former massachusetts governor now plans to spend most of the next 96 nours the state after a quick trip to new hampshire. his staff confirms he will be

there new year's eve as well as caucus night and the morning after. north korea warning a violent revenge against south korea. the nation says it is insulted more south koreans did not attend the funeral of the late leader kim jong-il. south korea did allow some citizens to attend, but did not send an official delegation. north korea responding with a harsh message threatening to "smash puppet forces" in the south. billed as the biggest new year's eve celebration in the world, 1 million partygoers will pack into new york city's times square tomorrow. right now big preps are under way. workers ripping up areas setting up a stage and checking out the famed crystal ball. later on we'll speak with new york city police commissioner ray kelly about the security preparations. al qaeda recruiting hundreds of jihadists in libya. a source tells cnn the terrorist group has already mobilized and army of some 2 hadn't fighters.

al qaeda leader ayman zawahiri sent in one veteran jihadist to help with improvements efforts. nic robertson joins us on the phone from london with more, and, nicnick -- nic why libya? why not a different country? >> reporter: they want to use it as a base of operation to strike europe and to strike u.s., american interests. why now? because the opportunity presents itself. saudi arabia is known to produce al qaeda, has in the past for iraq, produced a large number of jihadists, went to iraq and became suicide bombers targeting american troops inside iraq. right now, ayman al-zawahiri sent two topless. one with a very, very long relationship with ayman al

zawahi zawahiri, is trusted by him. seemed set to get a strong hold in the eastern part of libya, where he's determined is the best place to do that. other libyan members, senior figures in the al qaeda leadership. the two people he sent, one was picked up as he was a libyan, european national, picked up traveling through europe. the other one has made it there. established a group. this is somebody who was a jihadist in the 1990s, trained in mujahadin training camps in afghanistan, known to be exceptionally radical, was also in jail in britain for some time about three or four years ago. >> nic, are we going to be seeing attacks potentially in europe? are they going to be targeted to american interests in europe? what are the likely target locations?

>> reporter: well, the jihadist who is now heading this al qaeda group in libya is known to be very radical. he is known to buy into al qaeda's global jihadist ideology and he is known to be particularly interested in u.s. targets. he is less interested in establishing, if you will, an islamist counter fate in libya, per se. his agenda, it seems, from what we understand, from our source, is much more of an international agenda, and this is what al qaeda looks for. to establish itself in a much stronger way in north africa. looking to give them a foothold to do that. libya, there's a desert. countries to the south of there, nigeria, they're all places where al qaeda has had a small

number of operatives. the leader of al qaeda has clearly set an agenda to establish a stronger base, to further al qaeda's global jihadist ideology, which includes european and u.s. targets. >> all right. nic robertson, thank you so much. we really appreciate it. obviously, libya a place where they can act, really, without any sort of surveillance or supervision from the government. thanks so much, nic. new this morning, a massive sinkhole is threatening to swallow a historic cemetery. officials in allentown, pennsylvania, are scrambling to exhume graves that stand in danger. the cemetery holds about 20,000 graves dating back to the 1800s. the sinkhole spans from 50 feet and it's not just threatening the dead. 25 people evacuated from their homes. call it occupy twitter. massachusetts prosecutor s

subpoenaed the twitter records of an occupied protester and two hashtags. this after protested in dewey square earlier in the month. the aclu is calling it a violation of the first amendment. no charges yet filed. china is on a mission to send a plan to the moon. the plan includes the development of new satellites, spacecraft, even a space station. the chinese successfully docked two unmanned spacecraft in orbit last month and hope to have construction of a space lab completed by 2016. and no man on the moon until at least 2020. and arresting a drive here intentionally ran an suv into five car, including this one. the security camera captured it. police say the driver also tried to run over several people. still to come on "american morning," some muslim leaders are boycotting new york city's annual interfaith breakfast. why are they so angry?

we'll tell you. and new year's eve in new york city. the biggest party of the year. police commissioner ray kelly joins us to talk about how many nypd will keep revelers safe during tomorrow's celebration. it is now 38 minutes paf the hour. splenda® no calorie sweeter is sweet... and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda®, you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. and now get even more with splenda® essentials, the only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. just another reason why you get more... when you sweeten with splenda®. ♪ not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time

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well, welcome back. muslim leaders are snubbing the mayor of new york city and skipping his annual year-end interface breakfast saying they're upset over a report that the nypd, the new york city police department, spied on muslim communities after 9/11. the nypd denied it targeted muslims specifically saying it was only following leads. joining us now from washington is the national executive director of the council on america islamic relations. thanks so much for being here with us. first question, what are the tactics you find particularly troubling? >> good morning, deb. yes. first let me say that we have the utmost respect for mayor

bloomberg and especially for his courageous stance in support of the constitutional rights of american muslims to build a culture center near the site of the world trade center that was involved in controversy last year and the ties between the muslim community and the mayor's office and the new york police department is really good. i was a witness to many functions where i saw commissioner kelly engaging the muslim community. because of this kind of excellent relationship, we're very upset to hear through a.p. reports that the new york police department has been engaged in spying tactics and surveillance programs against the muslim community. so 250 islamic centers, mosques, schools, businesses, cab drivers, almost who's who in the muslim community has been spied on. so these tactics, without due

process, without evidence of crime, we believe it's unconstitutional, it's unlawful and that's where the shock comes from. that the mayor, when he knew about this he should have investigated it. the leaders in the community there communicated with his office and wrote him a letter declining respectfully the invitation, because it is an opportunity to send a message that this is wrong. >> interesting. the nypd did give us a statement. i do want to read it. they say, "con trarpy to such assertions, the nypd lawfully followed leads in terrorist investigations and does not engage the wholesale spying on communities that was falsely alleged." they're basically saying, no, it didn't happen. they're not spying, per se. to play devil's advocate. look, the nypd says there have been 44 known terrorist whose have come from this area, obviously new york city, a central or key target still even

now. isn't the nypd responsible for developing information, for developing intelligence, even if it means confidential informants, or moles? isn't this intelligence we're talking about? >> no, it's not. in fact, we support the new york police kept in their efforts to safeguard lives and all new yorkers including muslims, but to be engaged in wholesale, ethnic and religious profiling, that's wrong. let me say, they have a unit called the graphics unit, which means if you're a muslim you're subject to being targeted for spying. even according to the a.p. report, it showed that the friends, the permanent figures engaged in outreach with the police department have been spied on. so how can they deny this? these documents aren't aligned. they are not fabricated and have

to come to reality, they have just to admit that it is wrong and instead of just continue to defend it, i think they should just have it investigated and build on the great relationship that they have with the muslim community. these partnerships are built on trust, and these tactics tear every trust that we need to make new york stronger. you know, coherent and the relationship between the police department and the community is very crucial, and these tactics fail that relationship. >> sure. so the outreach efforts, even the trust undermined. quickly, yes or no. do you think the justice department should investigate? >> we have requested an investigation, including the involvement of the cia, which is prohibited by congress to spy on americans. >> okay. thank you very much. we really appreciate your insights into this topic this morning. thank you. >> you're welcome. still to come this morning, mitt romney in the home stretch's in iowa. how the republican front-runner plans to seal the deal in the hawkeye state.

that's next. and a live look right now, times square. where new york city police are getting ready to handle the biggest bash in the world on new year's eve. police commissioner ray kelly is going to be talking with us just ahead. it is now 46 minutes after the hour. tion. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't.

man on tv: ...rbis and 36 homers. swings at the first pitch and fouls it deep back into the stands. [ding] [fans whirring] announcer: chill raw and prepared foods promptly. one in 6 americans will get sick from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov.

and good morning, everyone. here's what you need to know to start your day -- four days to go until the iowa caucuses and front-runner mitt romney is trying to close the deal. he'll spend new year's eve in des moines and plans to be there next week on caucus night and the morning after the voting. north korea saying expect no change, and that it will not deal with the south korean government. the north says it's insulted that more south koreans did not attend the funeral of kim jong-il. south korea did allow some citizens to travel to the funeral but they did not send and official delegation. a trusted source tells cnn that al qaeda is building an army of fighters in libya. the source says the terror group has recruited some 200 gee ha0 jihadists. the usgs raising an alert around of an alaskan volcano to second on its scale. a lone explosion sent off an ash cloud. more blasts could happen soon. the volcano is more than 900

miles away from anchorage. and a southeastern coast storm bringing fierce winds and heavy rains. six people killed during the storm. no word how much damage was left. and a record-setting shoot-out in the alamo bowl last night. heisman trophy winner griffin and his bears reporting a thrilling victory over washington. wow. good run there. it was the highest scoring regulation bowl game in history. you're caught up on the day's headlines. "american morning" is going to meet you right back here after this short break.

welcome back.

it's ten minutes before the top of the hour. security and safety. top priority during tomorrow's new year's eve celebration in new york city. some 1 million reblers will pack into times square to herald in the new year and the nypd says it's ready. a ton of resources will be deployed, including thousands of officers and bomb-sniffing dogs and mounted horses. want to talk about security preps in times square and ray kelly is here to talk about that. good to see you, commissioner. the cross roads of the world, we're talking about a million people in times square. in terms of security, there is a lot you can't talk about, but what can you tell us in terms of what we'll see. >> you'll see a lot of police officers and the most recent police academy graduating class. this is their first deployment. >> graduated on december 22nd. >> that's right. but they've been training since then. this is the first deployment, about 1,550 of them.

as you said, mounted police officers and our helicopters will be up in the air and checking the 200-block area around times square. everyone that enters the area will have to go through a magnetometry check. >> let's talk a little bit about that because this is a massive operation. if you were one of those people that want to ring in the new year in times square, what should you keep in mind when you head down to that area? >> well, a few don'ts. don't bring alcohol. don't bring backpacks and those are probably the two most important things. i would say, get there early. entertainment starts early. it starts about 6:00 and some big-name people. >> lady gaga. >> justin bieber will be there. it will be a big, big deal. the people waiting there will be entertained. >> it is going to be a huge

party. with those two acts performing, you might get bigger crowds, commissioner. >> the weather -- >> last year it was snow and cleaning up from that. this year, a little different. you know, let's talk a little bit about, there's that famous saying, if you see something, say something. if you're going down there and you're looking around, obviously, you want to have fun, but you're looking around for suspicious activity. any tips for people who are down in times square and what they should be looking out for and what they should do if they see something suspicious. >> you see something suspicious, tell one of the police officers. look at your world or whatever activity you're engaged in through the prism of september 11th. if you see something different, something that just strikes you as being suspicious, we want to know about it. no dumb call in that regard. you can call 311, which is sort of the overall number here in

the city and they'll connect you to the right hotline. but, again, on new year's eve you see something suspicious, there should be a police officer pretty much within arm's reach. >> within the nypd, you, obviously, take care of a lot of big operations. is this the biggest of the year? >> yes, it is the biggest of the year, but we have, we have 600 events below 59th street. >> unbelievable. >> every year. >> so i believe we do this well, we have a lot of experience. >> you sure do. >> you can always learn from each event. we have a debriefing process. >> people do know that you are in close contact and you coordinate closely with the federal agencies, right? >> that's right. >> talk about how that plays out a little bit. >> we are members of the joint terrorist task force. we work with the fbi here in new york city. this is, we have 120 of our detectives assigned to the fbi's joint terrorism task force. they'll have their own operation center activated.

we will, as well. we have, you know, our officers in their command center and they have agents in our command center. so, a lot of communication. a lot of cross powerization. >> you will be in times square for new year's eve and the celebration. i think when we talk about all the security people tend to forget we are talking about a party and talk a little bit about that, just being down there. i mean, for people who haven't made it down to times square. it's one extraordinary event, isn't it? >> kind of a once in a lifetime deal. you have to do it once. it is a party. there is a level of excitement that starts at about 6:00 and people are really pumped up for it. now, we have other events going on in the city. we have the midnight run in central park with fireworks and a midnight run in prospect park in brooklyn with fireworks. fireworks on liberty island, statue of liberty and dinner

cruises. >> you'll have police boats out there patrolling the waters. there's 33 dinner cruises. you forget that is going on, as well. >> radiation detectors on the water. helicopters will be up. we have heavy weapons response teams that are in, you know, appropriate locations. you know, just an awful lot going on. we like seal the manhole covers and we remove the mailboxes. >> how happy are you on january 1st when everything's gone well? >> it's a good feeling when it's over. it is a party, but, for us, it's a job, too. >> of course, it is. >> when it's over, it's sort of a sigh of relief. >> i bet it is. happy new year. >> happy new year. >> commissioner kelly, thank you for coming in. a busy couple days for you. >> yes. well, ahead next this hour. counting down to the iowa caucuses. we're live in des moines where you're seeing a lot more of mitt romney in the next four days. you're watching "american

morning." it is almost 8:00. ♪ [ daniel ] my name is daniel northcutt. [ jennifer ] and i'm jennifer northcutt. opening a restaurant is utterly terrifying. we lost well over half of our funding when everything took a big dip. i don't think anyone would open up a restaurant if they knew what that moment is like. ♪ day 1, everything happened at once. ♪ i don't know how long that day was. we went home and let it sink in what we had just done. [ laughs ] ♪ word of mouth is everything, and word of mouth today is online. it all goes back to the mom and pop business founded within a family. ♪ when i found out i was pregnant, daniel was working on our second location. everyone will find out soon enough i think that something's happening. ♪ ♪

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i'm alina chao. mitt romney hunkering down for the home stretch in iowa. with ron paul right behind him and rick santorum surging, the race for the hawkeye state is wide open. ringing in 2012. i'm deb feyerick. last-minute preps and final touches for the biggest new

year's eve bash in the world. we are live in times square on this "american morning." good morning, everyone. it is friday, december 30th. you're probably all getting ready for new year's eve either to go out or stay in. >> personally, i like to stay in and watch the cnn new year eve's special. welcome to "american morning," i'm alina chao along with deb feyerick. we befwin this morning with counting down to the iowa caucuses. mitt romney hunkering down in the hawkeye state after a brief visit to new hampshire. he'll spend new year's eve, caucus night and the morning after the caucuses right in des moines. that's in an attempt to hold off ron paul and rick santorum. santorum surging right now. the former pennsylvania senator leap frogging newt gingrich into the top three in the latest

cnn/"time" orc poll. he's sounding more and more confident. >> this isn't my first rodeo. i've been through big campaigns in the state of pennsylvania. most of the media says that mitt romney is a guy that can beat president obama, but what history does mitt romney have? >> there's polling. >> meanwhile, the michele bachmann campaign is in chaos. >> her iowa chairman has jumped ship and another top adviser stepped down. bachmann finding it difficult to hide her feelings for the congressman. >> i took on ron paul over his dangerous position that he would do never to prevent iran from maintaining a nuclear weapon. . it is never going to happen, wolf. ron paul is not getting the nomination. >> little bad blood between bachmann and ron paul.

it is crunchtime in iowa, we don't need to tell you that. just four days to go before the caucus there's. >> a lot can happen and change in 96 hours because iowa voters are notoriously hard to pin down and more than half of them say they haven't settled on their final choice yet. jim acosta on the campaign trail and joining us live from des moines this morning. jim, a new poll out this morning. where is it pointing to? >> alina, another sign of moment momentum. a new poll that shows the race essentially where it was earlier this week with that cnn/"time"/orc poll. numbers are dramatic considering mitt romney has not spent much time in this state. 21% for ron paul and then confirming the rick santorum surge. there he is at 15%. there is a bit of a battle of the ricks going on. rick perry is right behind

santorum at 13% and newt gingrich, wow, what a stunning reversal of fortunes for the former and he is in fifth place in this poll. mitt romney, as i said, for somebody who hasn't spent a lot of time of in this state, contrast that with rick santorum who has been in every county of the state. mitt romney is leaving the state briefly this afternoon to go back to new hampshire, but then he's coming back to iowa for a big swing through the state for a couple of days and going into the caucuses and here later on this morning with new jersey governor chris christie, his top surrogate. how did all of this happen? he has gotten a free ride and newt gingrich has stayed positive and not attacking mitt romney very much. just to give you a sense of how easy it's been for mitt romney, consider the question he got from an 8-year-old at an event yesterday. >> is it hard running for the

president? >> thank you. and that's a darn good question and the answer is, yes and no. sounds like a politician, i apologize. >> so, there you go. yes and no. mitt romney trying to have it both ways on whether he was running for president. lighter moment for the former massachusetts governor. but one thing that is going to be interesting to watch, alina and deb, is can mitt romney translate this big mode that he has in this state into turnout. as you know, the iowa caucuses are all about turnout and all about getting people to these caucus sites to caucus on behalf of your candidate. it is going to be interesting to watch whether he has the ground forces in place to get all of those folks to these caucus sites to come out and support mitt romney. that will be the x-factor, i think, on tuesday night. >> ron paul has such a strong ground campaign, jim, as you know. a lot of people are saying, if the weather is bad, those die-hard paul supporters are going to get out there and maybe the romney supporters might not.

meanwhile, you have been there with romney and you've noticed a change in terms of the crowds, haven't you at the romney events in the past couple of days. >> you know, that's right, alina. they have gotten bigger and i was at an event yesterday at the music man museum in mason city. it is the site of basically where the inspiration of that film and that musical came from and romney sort of boubounced ie with a spring in his step. he does sort of campaign as this optimistic guy out on the trail. this is an even more buoyant mitt romney. they would not be here, i don't think, on caucus night if they were going to do badly. watching these returns coming in and he plans on staying into the morning, we understand, to do the morning tv shows from this state and keep in fact this one piece of trivia, alina. if he wins the iowa caucuses and

goes on to win the new hampshire primary, he would have done something that no gop presidential candidate has done since gerald ford. that would make him very hard to stop. >> did i mention that that 8-year-old is going to give you a run for your money, jim? >> that's right. he was elbowing me later in the day. i was like, what is with this kid here. >> jim accoosta live. >> asking the hard questions. >> jim, thank you very much. great to see you, as always. romney has the pacing down. well, this tuesday night, the country's first real votes and the candidate's first true test. special live america's choice 2012 coverage of the iowa caucuses begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. 2012 is almost here. it's the eve of new year's eve, right. 1 million people will jam into new york city's times square tomorrow to ring in the new year tomorrow night. the rest of the world will be watching some 1 billion on television. so, police, no surprise, will be ramping up security to keep the

rebelers safe. ray kelly explains some of tomorrow's safety measures. >> we'll see our most recent police academy graduating class. this is their first deployment. >> just graduated on december 22nd, right? >> that's right. they've been training since then. so, this is their first deployment. about 1,550 of them. as you said, you'll see mounted police officers and helicopters will be up in the air and checking a 200-block area around times square. everyone that enters the area will have to go through a magnetometer check. those are along sixth avenue and eighth avenue. 16 of them. >> for a peek at more new year's eve preparations, straight to susan candiotti live in times square. times square is like a big bow tie, the cross ties in manhattan. how close will people be able to get to the ball drop?

>> pretty close. 24 hours from now you will no longer be able to take a casual stroll like you can right now in the ten blocks or so area around times square. because 24 hours from now, there will be close to a million people already starting to gather here. people are getting ready now to put together these metal barricades to hold, there will be 65 of them to hold people in, appare leaving a path for emergency crews to get through here. in fact, they are also setting up stages here. you can see they're already in place for our own anderson cooper and kathy griffin. lady gaga and justin bieber and, of course, confetti. oh, yes, a ton of it flying down from the tops of these buildings here and on each one of those fireproof pieces of paper, well wishes on them written by tourists who come to visit new york in the last year. yes, they even rehearse the confetti drop. listen.

>> it's very, very important that the confetti falls, especially because this is confetti that has people's wishes on it. we want those wishes to come true. you don't want to flutter through times square. very important. >> you can actually make adjustments during the rehearsal if it doesn't work right? >> it's top secret, i can't tell you. >> i don't know what the secret is, but, yes, they will be playing with confetti later today and, of course, i have some in my pocket, too. you saw that earlier. we'll watch that ball drop. look, now that the sun is coming up you can make out 2012 at the bottom of the poll. we'll all be watching for it at the stroke of midnight. deborah, we'll be here watching. >> it's so interesting that you point this out. a lot of people really do love to go into times square and the last hour they do make it exciting. but it is amazing to me. i don't know if you had a chance to speak to anybody. they will come there and stand

there for 12, 13, 14 hours just for that one moment when the ball falls, you know, from 2011 to 2012, quite fascinating. >> oh, absolutely. and i guess they better be watching their water intake because once they get inside these pens, if they go out, they cannot get back inside. so, yes. it's a once in a lifetime experience that you even heard ray kelly say, the police commissioner, everyone should do it at least once in their lives. >> that's exactly right. >> that and the new york city marathon. i would probably choose where you are, instead of the marathon. i'm not quite in such good shape. susan candiotti from times square. thank you very much, appreciate you joining it. firefighters in los angeles are battling at least a dozen suspected arson fires overnight. several of them appear to have been started by setting cars on fire in underground parking garages. cnn affiliate kabc is reporting

several vehicles, a home and apartment building have been damaged by the flames. dozens of tenants have been forced out and one firefighter has been injured. and a missouri man arrested after trying to board a delta flight to arizona. allegedly with a loaded gun and $26,000 in cash. it happened at the kansas city airport yesterday. tsa screeners spotted the weapon with an x-ray machine. anthony is now charged with possession of a firearm. he claims he was returning the gun to his brother. the police say he later changed his story and denied knowing that the gun was in his bag. police in minnesota are searching for a groping suspect that was caught on camera. security video shows the man assaulting a 13-year-old girl. it happened at a walmart on monday. the man is seen following the victim for several minutes. she was just steps away from her family at the time of the assault. the suspect vanished just before the girl could tell anyone what happened. north carolina officials have raided a butterball turkey

farm. it was sparked by complaints of abuse by the animal rights group mercy for animals. they are alleging an ongoing pattern and released this video shot by an undercover activist who worked that plant for three weeks. just a warning, you may find some of the images disturbing. workers can be seen kicking and stomping on turkeys and dragging them by their wings and necks. butterball says it has zero tolerance policy for mistreatment of its birds and has launched an investigation. >> unbelievable. just in time, $16.5 million winning lottery ticket was turned in yesterday. just two hours before it was set to expire. it's a good thing. 16.5 million. iowa lottery officials tried for months to get the winner to come forward. no word on who won the hot lotto or who claimed the prize. 1 in nearly 11 million odds of

winning. north korean said it was snubbed by south korea at the funerals for king jong-il. now launching violent revenge. details on that coming up. you may have heard of the oldest person in the world or the tallest. do you know which dog has the longest ears? we'll find out those and other wild records from our friends over at the guinness book of world records a little later on in the program. and they are so last year. the list of words that will forever be banished from the english language in 2012. sorry, guys, your man cave is about to become a basement, again. [ female announcer ] splenda® no calorie sweetener is sweet... and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda®, you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. and now get even more with splenda® essentials,

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[hissing] [ding] announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. welcome back. well, north korea warning a violent revenge against south korea. the north is insulted that more south koreans did not attend the funeral of the late leader kim jong-il. south korea did allow some citizens to attend.

>> that's right, north korea still threatening to smash puppet forces in the south. paula hancocks is live from seoul, south korea, with more on that. paula, good morning. >> good morning, deb. well, there was a fair bit of debate around as to whether or not this new leader, who was much younger and also had been educated abroad was going to bring some kind of change to north korea. now, clearly, we have had our answer just one day after official mourning has ended. there will be no change in policy as far as north korea is concerned. a statement today from the national defense commission saying, "we solemnly declare with confidence that the south korean puppets and foolish politicians around the world should not expect any change." north korea was also saying they were furious with the government for not allowing delegations to go to pyongyang and pay their

respects. there was only one civilian delegation of 18 people that was allowed to make that trip. it is a very clear warning to south korea. it is a warning we have heard before for north korea, but it is a little bit quicker after the mourning period than many analysts were expecting. obviously, the north koreans are trying to show their status and how they feel very quickly after kim jong-il has taken power. they're basically saying, it's business as usual and nothing has changed. the south korean offered condolences to the north korea people. but, clearly, this wasn't enough for north korea. >> i think you're right, paula. it's not entirely unexpected but the fact that it came out so soon is a little surprising. paula hancocks live for us from seoul, south carolina. thank you very much. get them out of your system while you still can. released its list of words and

phrases that should be just banned from the english language that have just been overused. well, they include occupy, so, sorry about that. 99%. and man cave. come on, let's be honest. just a basement with a tv, a recliner, probably from ebay and a mini fridge and an old air jordan poster. let's call it what it is. also blowback, ginormous, baby bump. rob is off, reynolds wolf in the extreme weather center with a look at the new year's eve weather. a lot of people, i'm not one of them, but a million people will head to times square. what is it looking like -- >> i am not going to go because i have a ginormous baby bump because i sat in my man cave. we only have a few more days

left in the year. you mention times square and people want to know what kind of weather you'll have there. pretty good. bit more variable than it was last year. 43 degrees as the ball drops in new york city. a mix of sun and clouds but wind out of the west at 7 miles per hour. all things considered, picture perfect. unfortunately, the travel day, not so much in terms of picture perfect. especially in chicago and detroit. minneapolis, atlanta, houston, denver, even in san francisco, all kinds of issues mainly due to a mixture of snow in some places. san francisco, fog. what a surprise. out towards the western great lakes rain over parts of chicago, but farther to the west and back to the north, a little bit of snow that is piling in especially near the twin cities and no heavy accumulation anticipated. we'll see a switch over, the snowfall we had in upstate new york that will switch over rain

because warm air coming in from the south and that will keep temperatures above the freezing point. we told you about the issues we had in parts of the great lakes and beautiful conditions for dallas and wrapping up the high today in dallas is going to go to, 68 degrees and 72 in houston and 59 in san francisco and 33 in minneapolis and 54 in washington, d.c. >> did i see 79 in florida? >> you saw 74 in tampa. i know, it's going to be beautiful. let me guess, are you heading in that direction maybe? >> tomorrow. >> you lucky devil. enjoy both of you, you're both going to be in great spots. >> happy new year. enjoy that man cave, while you can. >> it's ginormous. thcoming up, the wildest guinness world records of 2011. who holds the record for the most dogs jumping rope? find out, that's coming up. right now it's about 22 minutes past the hour.

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it's 25 minutes after the hour. morning, everybody. minding your business this morning, the final trading session of 2011 ready to begichb in just over an hour. encouraging news on home sales and improving prospects for job growth sends stocks higher with the dow gaining 138 points and the s&p 500 advancing into the black for the year. and right now, wall street could be closing the curtain on 2011 on an upnote. dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 futures all pointing higher this morning, suggesting a possible bounce at the opening bell. verizon wireless confirms it will start charging a $2

convenience fee on january 15th to customers making one-time bill payments online or by telephone using a debit or credit card. the company says it will offer several options to customers who want to avoid paying it. real estate flippers who buy cheap homes fix them up and try to quickly resell them for a fast profit, they just got a reprieve from the federal housing administration. the fha extending anti-flipping regulations through 2012. buyers could still get mortgage insurance, even if they flip the home within 90 days of purchasing it. if you're in the market for an apple ipad 2, you might just want to hold off buying it for about a month. according to digitimes, that loves to predict this stuff. apple is planning to introduce two new high-end versions at the end of january. the price of the ipad 2 is going to be lowered to compete with amazon's kindle. next, some new york city

muslim leaders are boycotting an interface breakfast this morning. "american morning" is back and we will see you right after the break. 01x [ female announcer ] splenda® no calorie sweetener is sweet... and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda®, you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. and now get even more with splenda® essentials, the only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. just another reason why you get more... when you sweeten with splenda®. ♪ when you sweeten with splenda®. what is it about taking a first step that we find so compelling?

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you know, it seems like just last year we were standing there and now it's this year. the countdown is on. we will soon be ringing in 2012. celebrations going to take place all over the world. but the biggest bash, at least we like to think so here in the u.s. will be right here in new york on this "american morning." welcome back to "american morning." 30 past the hour. mitt romney hunkering down for the home stretch in iowa with four days to go before the

caucuses. the former massachusetts governor now plans to spend most of the next 96 hours in the state after a quick stop in new hampshire today. his staff is confirming he will be in iowa for new year's eve as well as caucus night and the morning after. al qaeda building an army in libya. a source tells cnn the terrorist organization has recruited some 200 jihadists in the country and alkeeda leader al zahiu hairy. north korea saying expect no change and that it will not deal with the south korean government. the north saying it's insulted that more south koreans did not attend the funeral of kim jong-il. south korea did allow some of its citizens to travel to the funeral, but did not send an official delegation. some muslim leaders snubbing the mayor of new york city and skipping his annual year-end

interfaith breakfast. they're upset over a report that the nypd spied on muslim communities after 9/11. >> the nypd denied saying it was only following leads. earlier on "american morning" we spoke from the council on islamic relations who says the muslim community is shocked. >> they have a unit called, called the unit. which means if you're a muslim you're subject for targeted for spying. it showed that the prominent figures who are engaged in outreach the police departments had been spied on. so, how can they deny this? these documents aren't online. ap revealed them and they're not fabricated and they have to come to reality. they have to admit that it is wrong. >> also new this morning, the obama administration has set up

a 24-hour telephone hotline for immigrants that have been detained by local police forces. it's designed to ensure the immigrants are being properly informed of their rights and detainees who believe they may be u.s. citizens or are victims of a crime. the hotline will be staffed 24/7 by customs enforcement officials. the u.s. has agreed to sell nearly $30 billion worth of f-15 fighter jets to saudi arabia. the deal calls for production of up to 84 new jets and the modernization of 70 existing f-15s. with iran calling tensions. they're calling america's commitment to a strong saudi defense. president obama paid his respects at pearl harbor last night. he's in hawaii, of course, for the holidays. the president and first lady laid a wreath at the "uss

arizona." the arizona humane society under fire for youthenizing a man's 9-month-old cat after he couldn't come up with $400 in cash. scruffy's story, next. 34 minutes past the hour. but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma ♪ fee-fi-fo-femma ♪ em-ma very good sweety, how do you feel? good. yeah? you did a really good job, okay? [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids.

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and welcome back. the arizona humane society has been taking a lot of heat for euthanizing a man's 9-month-old cat after he failed to come up with $400 to pay for the cat's treatment. humane society officials have since changed their policies and apologized to scruffy's owner for failing him. but that hasn't stopped outraged owners from threatening to withdraw their support for the organization. first of all, let's find out how all this unfolded and where we go from here. joining us live from phoenix, public relations manager for the arizona hew moumane society and want to take a listen to what happened here. >> they led me to believe that if i couldn't come up with the money right then and there that the only way i was going to get her treated was to sign off on her. >> now, the cat was injured.

the gentleman brought her to the humane society. the humane society apparently made him sign away his rights to the animal and then rather than treat the injury, apparently euthanize the cat. what happened? what went wrong? >> well, basically the credit card policy that the arizona humane society had in effect, it failed mr. dockery and it failed scruffy and we recognize that and we are truly sorry for that. and, you know, mr. dockery's situation is a bit unique. it's playing out in the public eye, but he is just one of thousands of people who come to our shelter each year and have to make that heartwrenching decision to surrender their pet for a variety of very unfortunate circumstances. and at no time are we ever able to force someone to do so or demand that they do so. we can only offer them their options.

and, in this case, the credit card policy did, in fact, fail mr. dockery and it did fail scruffy. >> ms. nelson, because he couldn't pay for the procedure, the cat was injured, but because he didn't have money or couldn't pay by cash, they weren't able to accept a credit card. why not just wait? why put the cat down when, in fact, really, he could have probably gotten that credit card within a matter of time? do people have the expectation their animals will be treated if they come to the humane society for help? >> well, scruffy was suffering. she had a laceration from razor wire or barbed wire going from her belly button and she had had muscle exposed. she was in a great deal of pain, she was suffering. we're not able by law to hold a pet for payment. as much as we would love our reduced cost clinic to be a free clinic, the need in our

community for free services is so great, that we would not be able to sustain that clinic for even another week. it is certainly not a matter of not wanting to help mr. dockery. the intent is never to put an animal down, but it is just a matter of the dire need eclipsing the resources that are available. >> and you do have so many animals. do you think that the animal could have, had he taken the cat back and simply waited? would that have been an option or do the people there on the ground, did they believe the right thing for him to do was surrender the animal, believing that the animal would be fixed? >> you know, again, we never make that decision for someone. the surrendering of a pet is very emotional, very heart wrenching and it's very, very personal. and we will never take that upon ourselves to suggest that someone do that, we can provide that option for them.

but, we recognize how it is truly heart breaking. and, again, he could have possibly gone else where with scruffy, but scruffy was suffering. and i do think daniel recognized that and i do think that he surrendered her based on that premise. >> all right, now, with the new credit card policy in place, i mean, have other animals been euthanized simply because people didn't have the money? why wasn't a credit card payment an option in the past? >> you know, had been our policy in our public clinics to not accept credit card payment over the telephone. due to the fraud that we had incountered as an organization. and we recognize now that that is clearly a flawed policy. and we changed on december 16th. we will accept credit cards over the telephone and we have also established a 911 emergency gap fund. you know, this is from our long-time donors, staff, and

supporters of the arizona humane society. this gap fund will work for people just like mr. dockery. perhaps they come in on a tuesday and their pet needs immediate care and they are unable to pay for that service until a few days later. that fund will cover that service for them until they have the opportunity to pay it back. and the fund will replenish itself perpetually so it can work to save so many more animals' lives. >> donations are taking a little bit of a hit right now, i think. >> you know, we definitely have people that are outraged and we understandably recognize that and we recognize the perception and we also have our long-time supporters that we thank very, very much. but, people, please, know that scruffy was suffering. we did what was humane for scruffy. >> all right, brenda nelson,

thank you so much for clearing that up. thank you. coming up, anderson cooper talks candidly about his time co-hosting the new year's eve celebration on cnn with that wildcard, we're talking about kathy griffin. what is his biggest fear? >> i try to blank it out as soon as it's done and i pray that i wake up the next day and it's not the headline in the drudge report. >> much more insight from anderson, just ahead. we're looking at the wildest world records of 2011 with the guys from the guinness book. which dog has the world's longest ears? find out. that's up next. it is now 44 minutes past the hour. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. let's do it, let's go to vegas. vegas baby! maybe we should head back to the dealership first?

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welcome back. before tomorrow's new year's eve festivities begin, we're celebrating the best, the biggest, the strongest and the strangest of 2011. >> you're only going to find them, where else, in the guinness book of records. here to take us through the most unique of the 40,000 records is guinness book spokesman. so, so interesting how many records have been set, but the one i like the most is the

91-year-old who is actually still doing yoga. >> indeed, indeed. bernice bates. >> where is she from? >> based out of florida. >> no surprise, i guess. >> she is actually the oldest yoga teacher. she's been doing it for about 50 years now. started as a swimming instructor, but then moved on to yoga. >> she did yoga 50 years ago, she did it well before the craze. >> the sudden fashion, yes. >> she was the craze. >> she still teaches one class a week in her retirement village in florida. >> so, i want to go to italy now and the world's longest chocolate bar. i mean, this is like a dream come true for me. i saw the photo of it. just how long is it? >> you'd raise an eyebrow if you found this in your chocolate stocking. this is actually 49 feet long and 6 feet wide and it's made by

a chocolate master, if you will. he hails -- >> well done on the name. >> actually holds another couple guinness world records. the largest chocolate sculpture as well as -- >> i would like to see the world's largest teiramisu. >> the 3-d painting that is there that is quite brilliant and magnificently done -- >> this is done in guinness world record's day and it is called three dimensional. >> do you have to wear glasses to get the full effect? >> no, the effect is quite literally, as you see it on your screens, it has a three dimensional kind of view and it's over, it's 12,490 square feet. took about a week to create in the center of london and just to give you a sense of that, that's

roughly about three nba basketball courts. >> is it on display somewhere. >> no, it's washed away by our wonderful english weather. >> the buildings are real. those are real. >> just what you see -- >> with the waterfall and the man scaffolding over. incredible. >> it is remarkable. >> you know, every day this week, we've been showing crazy animal video and we don't like to forget the animals on the record, you have a good one. >> we have several, in fact. the first one we're referencing is the dog with the longest ears. so, this is a black and tan -- no, sorry. >> the jumping rope dog. >> yours and then we'll do rope. >> this is a black and tan and his ears left and right are 12.25 inches and 12.5 inches. >> does he hear better? >> you know what, they use their droopy ears to swoop up sound

from the ground. they're hunting dogs. he stands head and shoulders above the other breeds. and he actually is from boulder, colorado, and he's 8 years old. >> you have jump roping dogs. >> super 1-1 circus and one day they were skipping rope and -- >> that's incredible. >> yes, i know. >> a young poodle by the name of mayonnaise actually joined in and started skipping. they got all the dogs involved and sime ultaneously jumping. >> hard to get humans to do that. >> 13 of them. now, they use it as part of their playtime and look at them having a well of a time. >> i love the little colors on their ears. >> you have some 30,000 records, right? what are some of the most memorable for you over the years? >> well, as you say, we receive around 50,000 inquiries every year from all over the world. they populate our database.

give or take 40,000 records since we started in 1955. one of the highlights this year would have to be kicking off a record at the white house with the first lady, michelle obama. we joined with national geographic kids' magazine and let's move campaign. >> the jumping contest. >> most people doing jumping jacks in 24 hours. the record had stood at 20,000 give or take and it was actually set this year, again, at 300,000 people all over the world. >> amazing. >> kicking off the year in a healthy way, very good. >> stuart, thank you so much. >> thank you. anderson cooper and kathy griffin will hold new year's celebration. griffin says she will try to pants anderson this year. we'll tell you how anderson responded to that and his favorite new year's eve memory so far. we will have that next for you, it's 52 minutes after the hour. ,

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you are looking at a live picture of times square where it is sunny. positively balmy for the new year's celebration that will be there tomorrow night. a million reblelers will be in

times square. >> tomorrow is new year's eve and that could mean only one thing. here at cnn, it is anderson cooper and kathy griffin. >> by her estimation she's been fired three times from the job and yet she still comes back. we should tell you anderson and kathy's fifth year hosting the new year's eve celebration together. it is anderson's tenth. i asked him if this was his way of avoiding to go out and hit the town of new year's eve. watch. >> it is, actually. i started doing this because i never had fun on new year's eve. especially in new york, there's no cabs, it's freezing cold and i started ten years ago started volunteering for this and i found out i really loved it. really great, actually, being in times square. >> talk about that a little bit. give us a little bit behind the scenes look -- where is the set? >> we're on this giant sort of

podium of bleachers that all media is on and everybody has two or three feet of space that they're allowed and you're basically above the booth around 46th street and just a great atmosphere there. it's nice, i don't think i could do it as a civilian because you're into pens with thousands of other people and you can't go to the bathroom and that seems very unpleasant to me. >> let's talk about kathy griffin a little bit. by her own estimation, she has been fired three times from this job. why do you keep inviting her back? >> it's not me. we've becoming friends over the years. >> she is like this with your mom. >> they see each other more than i see either of them. >> they talk about all sorts of stuff that i don't want to know about. yeah. >> last year she tried to take your clothes off. i want to play this clip -- watch. >> i met someone. what? it's new year's. >> you're supposed to do that at

the stroke of midnight. we're still like four minutes away. and we're going to be live all the way through, all the way through the new year -- all the traditional stuff that we love. new york, new york. what is going on? >> i'm taking your clothes off. i love america. it's for america. >> you never actually see the program when you're doing something like this and you don't go back and see it and it's weird to watch it. >> you know what she said she is going to try to do this year, she is going to try to pants you. >> i don't know -- >> she says that you should probably, just to be safe, duct tape your pants to your body. is that something you're willing to do? >> well, that's interesting. maybe i will try suspenders or something. she always comes up with some sort of hair brain idea and then we have to talk her down. >> yet she still tries. >> last year she wanted to throw money into the crowd and i was like, you know -- >> in all seriousness, though. do you have a favorite moment or two over the years. this will be your fifth year

with kathy. >> that is crazy. >> it is crazy. >> you know, a favorite moment, no. it's actually just -- >> it's all bad. >> i try to blank it out as soon as it's done. i pray that i wake up the next day and it's not the headline on the drudge report. that's basically -- oh, there was the, actually, there was the year she threw stuff at the jonas brothers, that was fun. they were performing and she was literally throwing things at them. >> this year, lady gaga is going to be -- >> we actually had gaga on the new year's show before she was huge and she was playing and we went to her concert and that was fun. i really feel we were responsible. >> i think you are. >> anderson, thanks. i'll be watching. >> always fun to talk to anderson and we should mention as a programming note, anderson cooper and kathy griffin will

host live from new york city's times square. provide reports from celebrations across the country and around the world and the party starts tomorrow, 11:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. and before we leave, we want to show appreciation to all those who work behind the scenes here at "american morning." these are the folks who get up in the middle of the night when everyone is sleeping to bring you this show and they do it with a lot of enthusiasm and love and energy. >> there's the control room. our producers. these are the people, by the way, who don't get the credit. we get the credit because we're on television. but these people work behind the scenes tirelessly day and night to make us look good each and every day. we cannot thank you enough because we're nothing without you guys. thank you very much, happy new year. >> thanks and happy new year to everybody. a great, awesome, new year filled with joy and love.